Most influential person in NBA history?

[Indy]

With Red Auerbach dying, it got me thinking. Auerbach did a lot of great things for this league which jeffx mentioned in the thread about his death. Red drafted the first black player, hired the first black coach, so he was obviously huge in taking steps towards that direction. However, was he the most influential person in the NBAs history? That's hard to argue, because I think as great as what he did was, its one of those things that was bound to happen anyways.

I believe that the most influential people in NBA history were actually Bird and Magic. Everyone knows how great the battles they had were, and everyone knows how great they were as players, but people don't really realize the impact that had on the sport and on the league. Before Bird and Magic games were barely on TV, even the NBA finals were tape delayed. There were some great players before them, but never 2 guys at once that were so great, so equal, and yet so opposite. One was a flashy tall point guard that ran fast breaks beautifully and made exciting, flashy passes. The other was a back to basics guy that had simply mastered the fundamentals and played the game right, but still had a surprising amount of flash and was an incredible shooter. The battles they had drew people in, and the NBA became a major sport and the NBA finals became a major event.

Obviously you could also make a case for Michael Jordan. MJ came in to the league when Bird and Magic were really shining. He got there at a time when it was all about those 2 guys, and the NBA had really begun taking off. When they retired, the league desperatley needed someone to step in and take their place as far as marketing the league and being a figurehead went. MJ did it in the best way possible. He won his first title in 91 by knocking of Magic and the Lakers, and the next season Jordan won again, and Bird retired. There was no transitional period after those two guys thanks to MJ. After they were gone, there was immidiatley a guy who had already begun winning titles and was incredibly easy to love too. He had the funny commercials, the tounge wagging, the flair and flash on the court, the signature fadeaway jumper, the list goes on and on. The league was really in a vulnurable period at this time, and MJ pulled it through. After he did that the NBAs popularity was now etched in stone. When he left we didn't even need that 1 or 2 guys that could be the league, because people had been following the league now for 20+ years since Bird and Magic. At this point people had their favorite teams and were knowledgable enough about the league to not need someone to catch their eye.

So let's here it, who was the most influential. Red? Bird and Magic? MJ? Was it someone I didn't mention like Dr J? David Stern? The only answer you aren't allowed to give is James Naismith. And Kobe Bryant.

[Klayface]

It all depends on the era in which your grew up, for me growing up during the Jordan days most would say it was his Airness. I know I wasn't the only one sticking his tongue out while playing thinking it would help lmao. To the kids growing up today they would probably say someone like Lebron or Kobe. It all depneds really. But since I hated Jordan, and am a huge Knicks fan it would have to be 3 guys (was just gonna pick one but I really can't) John Starks, Anthony Mason, and Charles Oakley. All of those guys played with passion, and never gave up. Sure Oakley changed his style of play later on in his career but I don't really remember him for shooting 3's, more like him diving to the hardwood to save the ball. Those guys are MY biggest influences when out on the court, which isn't much these days.

[cyanide]

I'd have to agree with you, but I would put Jordan slightly over Bird vs. Magic. Part of me says that I could be wrong because I wasn't alive during the duels, but part of me also says that Jordan just revolutionized the game globally. People all over the world knew who Michael Jordan was.

[Indy]

Stackmillz, I'm talking about the most influential person to the league itself. The fact that kids are born in to being fans basically means that the answer can't be Kobe or Iverson etc. I'm talking about the person(s) that either put the NBA really on the map, or brought it to new heights.

[Klayface]

Would have to be Magic in that case, really brought the NBA to new heights. His style of play couldn't be compared to any other player. He also played in a big market, which is part of the reason he had so many people fans of the league that wern't before.

[BZ]

Stackmillz, I'm talking about the most influential person to the league itself. The fact that kids are born in to being fans basically means that the answer can't be Kobe or Iverson etc. I'm talking about the person(s) that either put the NBA really on the map, or brought it to new heights.

The person that really put the NBA on the map imo, would be Michael Jordan. When Jordan was straight up dominating the league, everyone, everywhere, knew about Jordan. Jordan was the NBA in my eyes. Magic and Bird would be influential in the eyes of the die hard NBA fans, but in terms of hardcore and casual fans alike, Michael Jordan for sure stands out the most. You can simply ask anybody who Michael Jordan is, and chances are, 99.9% of the time, they'll know who he is. Plus, MJ and his Nike shoe deal kind of changed the way sneakers are perceived, and had many many people (me included) wanting to mimic his style whenever they play basketball. How many times have people tried to find the next MJ compared to the next Magic or Bird? So yeah, imho, Michael Jordan would be the most influential person in NBA history.

[BigKaboom2]

I'll vote for Podoloff just because nothing else would have happened without him, as I see it.

[Zoom]

I would like to say Larry O'Brien. That's right! The dude the championship trophy is named after!

There's quite a few things O'Brien did in his time as NBA Commissioner. Here are the things he did:

- League expanded from 18 to 23 teams under O'Brien with the addition of the Dallas Mavericks in 1980
- Coordinated the NBA's richest TV contract (1982)
- Brought the NBA to cable television (ESPN and USA) in 1982, establishing the league as a cable TV pioneer
- Negotiated two landmark collective bargaining agreements (1976, 1983)
- Modified the college draft and restored peace to a league in the midst of legal turmoil (1976)
- Negotiated the NBA/ABA merger as Denver, San Antonio, Indiana, and the New York Nets joined the league
- Introduced salary cap (1983)
- Orchestrated the settlement of the Oscar Robertson lawsuit, creating a fair and equitable system of free agency for veterans
- Annual NBA attendance reached 10 million during his tenure
- Gate receipts doubled and television revenue tripled during his time as commissioner
- Established NBA College Scholarship program (1980)
- Reached a stringent anti-drug agreement with the NBA Players Association (1983)
- Oversaw the adoption of the three-point field goal in the NBA (1979)
- Hand-checking was eliminated and on-court violence was reduced during his commissionership

Of all of those things, here are the ones I thought made a huge impact and have influenced the NBA to grow into what it has become today.

League Expansion and getting the ABA teams Spurs, Nets, Pacers and Denver would have been an important landmark. If I am correct in recalling that George Gervin, David Thompson are just two of the great players brought over to the NBA because of this. The more teams and 'star' power enabled him to be able to negotiate those tv contracts.

TV contracts in turn helped the league gain profit, larger audience and attention. The NBA has since grown, as we have seen, and today it is huge.

With the Collective Bargaining Acts, I'm not too sure on what came out of it but from skimming another article, it seems that players' wages became more fair and free agents were able to properly negotiate with potential teams. A quote from this article:

...a new six-year collective bargaining agreement which brought with it an increase in pension benefits; the minimum salary (from $20,000 to $30,000); the per diem; medical and dental coverage, term life insurance; the playoff pool; and player's shares for the All-Star Game, the players could claim a major victory. While the leagues did indeed merge, the players now could negotiate with more than one club, insuring a better position for contract negotiation.

So all in all, player wages, labor factors were amedned so that the League would be muych more fair and no 'work discrimination' or player strikes would happen... Also, this would make the NBA much more attractive to players and thus attract more talent to the league.

The addition of the salary cap was the first step in showing that the league wanted to move towards a competitve balance, fostering an atmosphere in which games would always be as close as possible and no team would dominate (at least, that was the idea...)

Rise in attendence during his 9 years as the commish really proved he was making a difference. Adding the three point field goal made the game even more exciting. His anti-drugs agreement is a no-brainer in keeping the competition fair, in fact I remember reading that MJ said most of his Bulls teammates used dope... imagine if today any sportsman uses dope: it is very very much frowned upon. The reduction of violence pretty much would have had a very positive effect on the league and it's recpetion by audiences.

Most of these acheivements, I feel have pretty much shaped what the NBA has become. I doubt that without the TV contracts or rule changes that a lot of the modern NBA 'legends' would have come around. Without adequete tv coverage, do you really think Magic and Bird would have been billed as legends and gotten as much attention? Without the three point line, would we ever see games won and lost from a single shot? Let alone have players such as Reggie Miller grace the court and do their thing?

After his run as commish was over, the NBA continued to grow. David Stern was lucky to have been the next commish down the line as he was the one who gained the most from his predecessor's moves.

Some might say that it was the players who took the NBA to fame in the 80s and 90s.... But I argue that without O'Brien and his decisions and reforms to the NBA, even the players entering the NBA wouldn't have been able to have the same impact as they have had.

EDIT: I'm not dissing on MJ or anything but he does play a big part in promoting the league BUT without that TV contract the NBA got, he wouldn't have gotten his face around the coutry and the globe. Think about it... if there was some sport that as only popular to it's own fans and didn't receive much attention in the media... even if you had a great player in that sport who is being billed 'one of the best', I doubt that you would hear about it and you wouldn't even care.

[Jeffx]

However, was he the most influential person in the NBAs history?

In my eyes, yes. Without Red's innovations and genius, the NBA wouldn't have been the same. I hated Red because he always stuck it to the Knicks, but the man knew his sh!t. He's to the NBA what Vince Lombardi was to the NFL. Remember, teams passed on Russell because his lack of an offensive game and his skin color. But Red knew Russell's unique gifts would be perfect for the Celtics. Same with Bird - he was overlooked too.

I'm listening to legendary Boston sportswriter Bob Ryan on Mike & the Mad Dog - great stuff on Red. According to him;

a) it bothered Red that the Celtics drew more fans during Bird's era than Russell's(because Larry was one of the NBA's few white superstars)

b) Red was devastated by the Len Bias tragedy.

c) Red admitted to Mike Lupica if he had a choice between Russell & Jordan, he whispered Jordan.

[BMG]

my vote goes to Dr. Jerry Buss

since he bought the lakers, the league has changed so much for the better

the lakers girls, the fast break style of play, the entertainment value, prime ticket was the first cable channel to show a NBA team home games exclusively

now every team in the league has a dance team and a cable outlet that shows home games

big up to him also for getting a star today on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, he is the first person in sports to ever get one

[Zoom]

a) it bothered Red that the Celtics drew more fans during Bird's era than Russell's(because Larry was one of the NBA's few white superstars)

Also because the NBA was actually being marketed in Larry's time.

b) Red was devastated by the Len Bias tragedy.

If that didn't happen, I'm sure Boston would have stayed at the top for the 90s...

c) Red admitted to Mike Lupica if he had a choice between Russell & Jordan, he whispered Jordan.

I remember that Red was saying how he was a better coach than Jax simply because Jax had Jordan, amongst other stars.

[air gordon]

David Stern. took Larry O'Brien's ideas and made them work

[Zoom]

David Stern. took Larry O'Brien's ideas and made them work

David Stern was lucky he had soemthing to work from. In the end, they were still O'Brien's ideas and it wasn't a coincidence that the NBA began to grow after O'Brien worked as the commish.

[air gordon]

credit is due to O'Brien, even Stern himself says it in one of Jordan's biographies, for the love of the game irrc, which is why he decided to name the championship trophy after him.

the NBA began to grow under O'Brien but only after Stern took over did the NBA begin to really flourish

thinking about it some more, it is too difficult to designate just one person as the most influential player ever in the NBA. there's just so many things to consider- the management/business side, the coaching/strategy, and then the players themselves

heck we can't even agree on who the greatest player or coach is of all time. interesting topic nevertheless

EDIT I had to recheck the my info-

it was infact Stern, who was VP of business or something for the league, and the head of the players association, Larry Fleisher, who came up with those revolutionary ideas you listed under O'Brien's regime- collective bargaining agreement, salary cap, revenue sharing. And it was Stern who spearheaded the drug-abuse treatment program

[Zoom]

O'Brien built the foundation, Stern added to it. However, I think it is one of the two who are the most influential... they have made the NBA and have been able to expose the big name players to the public. Without the two of them, we wouldn't think as highly of the players as we do today.

i'm still saying it was O'Brien because the three point line woulda been ingenious back in the day, the salary cap and CBAs were a step in the right direction for player equality (in a way helps out with the racial factors too cause with a minimum wage, teams cant discriminate with wages) and league expansion is a no-brainer. It was all from him first, therefore that's my arguement.

[Sauru]

i really hope this is a sarcastic statement

my vote goes to Dr. Jerry Buss

since he bought the lakers, the league has changed so much for the better

the lakers girls, the fast break style of play, the entertainment value, prime ticket was the first cable channel to show a NBA team home games exclusively

now every team in the league has a dance team and a cable outlet that shows home games

big up to him also for getting a star today on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, he is the first person in sports to ever get one

[maes]

Lots of good candidates, I don't know the history of Red like Indy does.

But from my perspective Dr J was the start of the modern NBA.

1. Established the high-flying, acrobatic style of basketball that people love today, a style emulated by Jordan and Kobe & others. Until his popularity and success, all that was considered "bad" basketball and actively discouraged by coaches. Without Doc, we'd probably be watching a league full of set shots and layups instead of dunks & alley-oops.

2. Established that basketball players can be marketable. He was one of the first players that endorsed products for money...which paved the way to a gigantic business. One of the first players to have a signature shoe.

3. His populairty was really the only reason the NBA absorbed the ABA, and its high tempo style of play.

Without Doc we'd still have an NBA, but it would probably be infinitely more boring.

[Zoom]

But from my perspective Dr J was the start of the modern NBA.

1. Established the high-flying, acrobatic style of basketball that people love today, a style emulated by Jordan and Kobe & others. Until his popularity and success, all that was considered "bad" basketball and actively discouraged by coaches. Without Doc, we'd probably be watching a league full of set shots and layups instead of dunks & alley-oops.

2. Established that basketball players can be marketable. He was one of the first players that endorsed products for money...which paved the way to a gigantic business. One of the first players to have a signature shoe.

3. His populairty was really the only reason the NBA absorbed the ABA, and its high tempo style of play.

Without Doc we'd still have an NBA, but it would probably be infinitely more boring.

Without Larry O'Brien, Dr J would have never been in the NBA because he helped those ABA teams merge with the NBA.

[BigKaboom2]

Jerry Buss and Dr. J?

Scaring me, guys.

[Zoom]

Maybe you can expand on that opinion?

I'mn not familiar with Podoloff... what did he do?

[Indy]

Jerry Buss and Dr. J?

Scaring me, guys.

Dr. J really isn't that much of a reach. I think it is definitley incorrect, but he was extremely important to merging the leagues.

[Andrew]

thinking about it some more, it is too difficult to designate just one person as the most influential player ever in the NBA. there's just so many things to consider- the management/business side, the coaching/strategy, and then the players themselves

Agreed, I don't think it's possible to pick just one individual as the most influential figure in the history of the league but rather there are a group of names that stand out, names such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, David Stern, George Mikan, Red Auerbach, Larry O'Brien and Maurice Podoloff.

Walter Brown is another name that comes to mind. He founded the Boston Celtics in 1945, who of course have become one of the most storied teams in basketball, if not all sports. He helped found the BAA in 1946 and is credited as spearheading the merger of the BAA and NBL into the NBA in 1949, a move that injected new life into the young league and perhaps saved it from an untimely demise.

[CMJ3]

Michael Jordan changed basketball forever, its got to be him.

[scrub]

Jordan because he's recognised worldwide with people who don't even follow basketball. He revolutionized the game but I agree with Andrew on what perspective you are looking at it but Jordan has still been the most influential overall in terms of who people love and recognise with the sport. Its like Tiger Woods and golf. Tiger may not have passed Jack Nicklaus' titles won but he is the face of the game and the guy you recognise with the sport.